Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
Michigan: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1805 to today (CourtListener).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1805 to today (CourtListener from 1965; Caselaw Access Project to 2016).
As we read the highest court's own website and the free indexes on November 7, 2026. CourtListener's years come from its public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). The table has each court and source.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing.
Courts and sources
Each line is one court read from one source. Years are the span that source lists; “inferred” means taken from a description of the site, not from the site itself. A site that refused our automated check may still open in a browser.
| Court | Level | Source | Years | Text search | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Supreme Court | Highest court | courts.michigan.gov | from 2001 (inferred) | Not checked | Only partly readable in our checkIts opinion lists load with a script, which our automated check could not read. |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1805–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check90,973 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Jul 31, 2026; 2,530 with approximate dates. |
| Michigan Court of Appeals | Appeals | courts.michigan.gov | from 1996 (inferred) | Not checked | Only partly readable in our checkIts opinion lists load with a script, which our automated check could not read. |
| Michigan Court of Appeals | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1965–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check49,959 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 28, 2026; 3 with approximate dates. |
| Michigan Court of Chancery | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1839–1841 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in useCourtListener lists it as a historical court.176 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Dec 7, 1841; 155 with approximate dates. |
| Michigan - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1805–2016 | No | Opened in our check |
| Michigan - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 2 Michigan courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1805 to 2016.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- courts.michigan.gov: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- Only part of Michigan Supreme Court's website could be read in our check, so its years and text search are not fully measured.
- We could not confirm that opinion text can be searched on Michigan Supreme Court's website.
- Some of this state's court websites load their opinion lists with scripts. Our automated check could not read them, so their years and search are not measured. A person using a browser can.
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2016.
- Our survey lists no free statewide source of trial-court opinions for this state.
Corpus
Corpus holds the statutes, not the opinions
For the law itself, Corpus searches Michigan statutes, and each result cites its section and links the source.
Data: Corpus Open (open source). CourtListener bulk data (public domain), snapshot Sep 30, 2026.
Read by Corpus on November 7, 2026. Sites change; check the court’s own website before relying on a line.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing. Corpus is not a law firm.